Heat exchanger



Oct. 28, 1958 G. w. GERSTUNG 2,858,112

HEAT EXCHANGER Filed May 25, 1955 '1 l i. zi" 2 I M III I :,.fIvIff IIIIII..

TM- I f I -IIII I I I I I "IIII mi.- i

, g f2: imvIIII X I 2f 5 E@ IIII f w wl I W "imi" M. Iv; QIIIIIII- I IIII ATTORNEY 4UnitedStates Patent O HEAT EXCHANGER lGeorge W. Gerstung, Lockport, N. Y., assignor to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Delaware This invention relates to heat exchangers and more particularly to heat exchangers for transferring heat between liquids and gases or vapors.

In cooling or heating liquids, vapors or gases it is often desirable to provide a heat exchange unit which is of light Weight, easily adaptable for quantity production, simple in construction, and eflicient in operation as well as low in cost of manufacture. In order to gain eciency in heat transference it is essential that the iluids be prevented from flowing in a continuous or unbroken stream through the exchanger and that the arrangement be such that a maximum of area is provided through which the heat may quickly be transferred.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved heat exchanger for transferring heat between two fluids, one of which is a liquid.

Another object of the invention is to provide a heat exchange unit of light weight, but of rugged construction, and capable of eicient operation.

To these ends, a feature of the present invention com* prises associated pairs of corrugated plates so arranged that each pair provides an interconnected and intricate arrangement of passages for liquid flow conducive to efcient heat transfer. Preferably, the passages are formed in a herringbone pattern reversely defined in sheet metal plates arranged in juxtaposed relation.

These and other important features of the invention will now be described in detail in the specification and then pointed out moreparticularly in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a view in elevation of a heat exchanger in which the present invention is embodied, a portion being shown in section better to illustrate the construction; and

Fig. 2 is a view looking in the direction of the arrows 2 2 in Fig. 1 with portions broken away to show details of internal construction.

The drawings depict an arrangement in which multiple pairs of corrugated plates 12 and 14 are spaced apart by air centering means generally indicated at 16, as well as by heater elements 18 and 20.

Each of the plates 12 and 14 of any given pair 10, as well as the air centering means 16, is made of sheet metal which may be of aluminum, steel, copper, brass or of any metallic composition suitable for the particular use to which the exchanger is to be applied. Because of the special form of construction, this sheet material may be very thin and yet be capable of use in systems employing high liquid pressures.

As stated above, a pair 10 of juxtaposed plates 12 and 14 is made of sheet metal and each of these plates of any given pair is corrugated with a herringbone pattern to produce ridges 22 or 24 which dene passages extended and interconnected within that pair. The arrangement of the ridges or corrugations 22 of plate 12 is such as to pass in directions transverse to the ridges 24 of the corresponding plate 14 in the same pair 10. In Fig. 2 the location or placement of the ridges 24 with relation to the ridges 22 is shown by the grooves 24A within the ridges 24. The plates 12 and 14 are dat at their peripheries or margins so that the latter closely contact each other to present a continuous and sealed peripheral joint 26. The interconnected passages of each pair 10 communicate with or terminate at aligned openings 30 and 32 formed in contacting portions of the plates 12 and 14 respectively. The opening 30 is flanged as at 34 and the opening 32 is defined by an oppositely disposed flange 35. These flanges form a fluid seal connection for communication with the interior 37 of a header generally indicated at 38. One end pair 10 of the heat exchange unit is so arranged that the ange 34 projects within a threaded pipe connection 36 which may serve as an inlet or outlet for liquid passing through the heat exchanger.

The header 38 not only includes the pipe connection 36, but also aligned multiple header elements 18 which space the pairs 10 and an end element 40 which may be blocked oft' by an insert 42 if desired. Obviously, flanges 34 and 35 as employed with the element 18 and the tting 36 are similarly used in connecting the other pairs 16 to the header 38 and connecting the other ends of all pairs 10 to the header 44.

At the other end of the heat exchanger the header 44 is provided which is similar to the header 38, but in this case, a pipe connection 46 is provided diagonally opposite the pipe connection 36. Also, the header 44 includes an end element 45 plugged as at 48 diagonally opposite the plug 42.

The air centering means 16 between adjacent pairs 10 preferably comprises twin sheets of metal 50 and 52 corrugated in herringbone fashion and reversely arranged to contact the adjacent plates of the pairs 10 and between the corrugations o-r ridges of the latter. The end air centers 5t) and 52 suppe-rt sheet metal plates 60 and 62, respectively. These plates are provided with inwardly directed flanges 64 next to the headers 38 and 44 so that no sharp edges are exteriorly presented.

The plates 12 and 14, the end plates 60` and 62, and also the header parts may be all joined to form a unit by means of conventional brazing or soldering technique. l If desired, however, tie rods (not shown) may be employed to hold the parts of the heat exchange unit together or a circumscribing frame (not shown) may be used to hold the assembly together and also serve as a mounting means.

It will be appreciated that a liquid such as hot oil may be introduced through the pipe fitting 36 into the header 38 and forced in intermingled streams through each of the multiple pairs 10 of plates 12 and 14 into the header 44 for discharge through the pipe tting 46. Simultaneous with the flowing of the heated oil through the exchangencooling air may be forced through the air centering means 16 parallel to the opposed faces of the pairs 10 and between the headers. It is clear that the oil will not flo-w straight through the passages defined by the plates 12 and 14 but will be agitated because of the peculiar interconnection of the herringbone pattern passages. Also, the air centering means is formed efliciently to extract the heat from the walls of the pairs 10 and dissipate it to the air.

Obviously, the heat exchange unit described may be used as a heating or cooling device for either a liquid, a vapor or a gas and the construction is such that it lends itself readily to variations in design for accommodating different volumes and velocities of fluid flow to suit different or given situations.

I claim:

l. A heat exchanger comprising parallel pairs of juxtaposed plates, the peripheral margins of the plates in each of said pairs being in interfacial attachment, centering means interposed between and in interlocked relation with adjacent pairs of said plates for guiding one fluid in one direction, said plates and centering means being of sheet metal, said plates having: aligned header openings, each olsaid. pairs defining crossedpassages` in communication.

with the said aligned headerlopenings, cylindrical header elements each connecting the peripheral margins of the aligned header openings of theopposed plates of adjacent pairs of said plates, and said header elements collectively being arranged in coaxial relation with said aligned header openings for conducting aseconcl fluid inl another direction in eiectingk ay heat exchange relation thereof with said one fuid.

2. A heat exchanger as set forth in claim l, the aligned header openings of each pair of said plates being deiined by oppositely directed flanges integral with said plates and extending.into corresponding cylindrical header elements.

References Cited inthe le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 511,843 Holland Jan. 2, 1894 574,157 Ljungstrom Dec. 29, 1896 1,547,123 Hart July 21, 1925 2,020,957 Oppe et al. Nov. 12, 1935 2,090,222- Neveu Aug.17, 1937 2,169,993 Booth c Aug. 22, 1939 

